Soulja Boy Speaks on ‘Juice’ Remake & His Relationship With Diamond

Soulja Boy. Rapper. Internet sensation. Oscar winner? Yes, the Atlanta-based rapper is playing Bishop in the remake of the urban classic film Juice. Yet, don’t expect Soulja to share the screen with Denzel Washington any time soon. After releasing his Juice mixtape last week, Soulja is filming the mini-movie this week in Atlanta. In it, Soulja is about to sink his pearly whites into the infamous role that made 2Pac into an in-demand actor. Only time will tell if it will do the same for Soulja. XXLMag.com caught up with the 20-year-old to discuss the Juice remake, Pac, and of course, his new relationship with Diamond. —Jesús Triviño Alarcón

XXLMag.com: Why did you decide to remake Juice and not Boyz N The Hood?

Soulja Boy: The Juice thing went along with my mixtape. I got the idea first for the mixtape. Let me tell you the whole story, I was in California watching the Juice movie and I called my barber to get the Bishop haircut. Then I TwitPiced the photo and everybody went, “Ahh, man, Soulja got the Juice cut.” So I knew I had to make a mixtape. So I got in the studio and got with DJ Scream, recorded the mixtape. 450,000 downloads the first two days. After that I was like, I need to do this movie. If I do this movie and I play Bishop, I’ma tear it up, man. At the same time I’m promoting me doing music in a positive way but at the same time I’ll be breaking into the acting field. Basically, killing the bird with one stone so that’s why I picked the Juice thing.

XXL: So who’s writing the screenplay?

SB: With the screenplay Rage [Dale Resteghini] just came off a $15 million dollar movie with 50 called Gun that they shot. So they shooting the movie. Rage is the same director from “Crank That (Soulja Boy)”and “Kiss Me Thru the Phone.” I told them how I wanted it to be, but they shooting everything. We already had a couple of film festivals reach out trying to get the official premiere. The Bel Air Film Festival, the Sundance Film Festival they want us to premiere the Juice film there. So we got a lot of options.

XXL: You’re shooting the film in Atlanta as opposed to New York but as far as the storyline are you sticking to the original script. For example, does Bishop still shoot the bodega owner?

SB: Actually that part is still happening where I shoot the dude in the head. There are just little details in the movie which are different. As far as the beginning of the movie they show Bishop’s nicer side where I see a little girl with her cat stuck in a tree. I get the cat. Then later on in the film when we’re about to go in and rob the bodega she sees me. I’m waiting for the last customer to walk out and she walks out and she looks at me in my eyes. I’m right there in the shadow with a gun, ‘bout to run into the store. Little things like that are different.

XXL: What did you particularly like about Pac’s role as Bishop?

SB: I was sitting and watching the movie and thought if I had to play anyone in the movie I had to play that part. I liked how 2Pac became the character. When he flipped out, that was my favorite character in the whole Juice movie.

XXL: You’ve obviously seen the film, have you’ve heard the soundtrack?

SB: Nah, I haven’t heard the soundtrack. I ain’t ever heard the Juice soundtrack.

XXL: You should really check it out. It’s one the best soundtracks of all time. Back to the remake, what role does Waka Flocka play? And who else is confirmed right now?

SB: He gon be part of my crew. He basically gon be my right hand man just like Raheem was. We start filming [today] in Atlanta but just confirmed right now it’s just me and Flocka.

XXL: Is the BET debut a done deal?

SB: We straight. That’s confirmed. We still got options on the table as far as where we’re going to premiere it. As far as TV, we still got BET on board.

XXL: The Internet is buzzing about you dating Diamond. Is it true?

SB: Ahh…yeah, it’s true.

XXL: How did y’all hook up?

SB: Man, I’ve been knowing Diamond for four years; ever since I came on the scene with “Crank That.” She’s been a cool individual and recently we started rocking heavy. Y’all already know (laughs).

XXL: Being that Diamond was engaged to Lil Scrappy, his mom is now attacking her in the press.

SB: Obviously, it’s stuff you gotta deal with when you’re a celebrity and in a relationship in the open. It don’t matter who girl it would’ve been. If you a celebrity and you dating people gonna talk. It is what it is.